When introducing her new friend Lauren to her room, Baby reflects on her rag doll, “It was a doll that my mother had bought for me when she was pregnant . . . The doll also made me feel sweet inside, too, because it made me feel that at some point, even before I existed, I had been loved” (O’Neill 97-98). This illustrates Baby’s longing for a loving mother figure, which is a reasonable expectation from a 12 year old girl. Loving care is a critical need of any child.…
Source 1 (scholar article): Auster and Mansbach cite a study done by Blakemore and Centers in 2005 that many adult, including college students have not change their attitude about toys. They still judge and see children’s toys in a gender stereotyped way. The logos, packaging, color and function of toys are used by adults as “gender markers.”…
“I’m going to Disney World!” shouts the quarterback of the winning team. This scene is played out every year in front of millions of football fans watching at home with their children. Who is this advertisement focused on? Is Disney Corp. telling grown ups they should vacation there because that’s where rich football players go? Absolutely not! This promotion is bypassing the grownups altogether and attacking their true target audience. Disney’s marketing demographic is children. Everything about Disney is designed to entertain and capture the attention of kids. Disney is not only creating a market based solely on children it is telling these kids who and what is beautiful and desirable.…
The article “Gender, toys and learning” was a good starting point for discussion and understanding elements of how media can truly impact the roles projected to the observer, usually children that are at a very impressionable age. Studies show that 3-year-old children could accurately separate toys with over 90% accuracy to what their parents believed was appropriate and acceptable. At age 5, children could perfectly identify gender-specific toys in accordance with their parent’s beliefs (Freeman, 2007). It’s easy to blame toys and media for categorizing the roles of different genders. Those businesses have a primary goal of making a profit. And keeping abreast of what consumers want is good for earnings. The conclusion I have reached is that gender typecasting begins at home, whether it’s through parental involvement or them being disengaged, role models make a huge difference in who we grow up to…
The documentary Tough Guise 2 addresses the concept of the social construction of masculinity demonstrating how the family, institutions, and society impose a given model of femininity and masculinity. In fact, Tough Guise 2 points out how we shape boys and girls behavior since early childhood through toys, TV shows and movies, not to mention video games, by offering institutionalized models of femininity and masculinity. The documentary stresses that violence associated with masculinity is not a natural trait —a genetic predisposition—but rather a model socially constructed inculcated…
Some examples would be Teen mutant Ninja Turtles action figures with playset, Pokémon cards and stuffed animals, Marvel Avengers action figures and Jurassic world Tyrannosaurus rex figure that are typically designed for boys. For girls it would include Bratz dolls, Frozen Elsa sing-a-long, Princess Character dolls, my little pony and Barbie movies with doll dream house with accessories. In general the toys most associated with boys were related to fighting or aggression and the toys most associated with girls were related to appearance. In the data I included, the toys that seem to be neutral gender are games like candy land, connect four, twister, rubric’s cube and hungry hippo which helps develop cognitive and social skills. The toys rated as most likely to be educational and to develop children’s skills were typically categorized as neutral. This data didn’t surprise me when just by looking at the toy aisles you can tell their gender segregated. The toy aisles meant for girls are covered in pink and vice versa for boys with blue. Also movies meant for boys tends to be more action type while girl movies for children tend to be based on…
Walking through almost any toy store today, the first thing to be noticed would be that there are two main sections. One, displaying an immense amount of colors from pink, yellow, to purple. Glitter and frill were not absent among this section that held children’s toys ranging from dolls, stuffed animals, plastic play houses with kitchens as well as telephones, and common feminine characters scene on young television channels. Looking at the bikes or toy motor cars here, the same color variations appear only along with streamers and prominent words such as “princess” or “sparkle”. Looking more closely at the toy dolls, there is a very common attribute in almost every one having blonde hair, blue eyes, and large breasts. These can be found more often then dolls portraying ethnicity of African American or Hispanic denomination. Stuffed animals are often seen with name tags such as “Candy” or using the prefix of “Miss” before their…
Gender bias through a child’s toy can have a large effect on their behavior. Children model the behavior of adults around them, something from TV, or even a toy. A young boy has the imagination to see his action figure in…
I agree the reaction about gender free toy aisles was a bit over the top. However I feel gender free toys aisles would encourage a more gender neutral society which would not place a negative emphasis on male and female roles. Which continually promote gender scripts making certain behaviors and choices unacceptable according to cultural standards and values. In my opinion Target is taking a stand and by changing consumerism and how children interact with each other.…
Young boys and girls are influenced by their respectable toys in a manner of ways. While girl’s toys promote an unrealistic version of…
Gender stereotypes are exaggerated generalizations that are based purely on gender. The area of study for this investigation is sociocultural influences. This is a contemporary issue as it is becoming an excessive thing in modern society due to companies increasingly gender marketing their products towards children. The toy sections at shopping centers are divided into two categories: girl’s and boy’s toys. Aisles are filled with either pink, frilly princesses or blue, aggressive action figures. Toy marketing has changed dramatically in the past 50 years. As a matter of fact, it was not until the 1990s that toys were exceedingly targeting specific genders…
Children in the preschool years tend to base gender on behavior and physical appearance. For example, clothing and hair length are usually indicators to children of the other person's gender. As children vocalize these differences, they are forming their own views on gender role differences. Little boys and girls are careful to make sure their clothing and toy choice are gender specific. A young girl may only wear a certain color associated with femininity, while a boy may insist on wearing his sports hat to indicate his masculinity. This behavior is usually encouraged by peers as well as teachers. Many teachers reward gender stereotypes within the classroom. For example, a teacher may expect boys to be noisier than girls and will therefore be quicker to punish a noisy girl than she will a noisy boy. Through this interaction, the children are learning that girls are to be compliant and quiet, while boys are expected to be aggressive and forceful. The question is that are these two categories like this because of gender roles, a type of self-fulfilling…
“Seen through Rose-Tinted glasses:” The Barbie Doll in American Society. By Marilyn Motz; supports the highly debated topic that the toy Barbie produced by Mattel is a bad influence, on young girls. Motz is claiming that the young female child envisions herself as Barbie, and with Barbie resembling an older more mature woman. Something that Barbie’s age group cannot obtain, in till they grow older and more mature themselves. However, Barbie is just a toy, her resemblance, her actions, as a doll is, solely up to the child. Adults looking into their daughter’s childhood are simply over thinking what a three to eleven year old can produce inside her mind.…
Lapointe,Nate: Ever since I was born I've had action figures and toy cars thrown at me by my parents and I had always thought that that was how it was supposed to be, I soon realized this was not the case. As I grew up things changed a lot what was once considered blasphemy was now normal and widely accepted all of a sudden I was thrust into a new age where there was no longer only two genders. With those changes, my eyes were opened and any prejudice I had was forgotten. It seems that toy companies are not on the same page as I am, because they keep on producing toys that fortify gender roles. I do wish that the numerous toy companies would consider the social impact their toys create unfortunately they never will. Unless everyone stopped…
It was surprising to see that even when looking at board games we are found looking at one or the other, if not it shows an image to direct you toward who it’s for. For example the game Monopoly, comes in several version, for the girls they have a Frozen and Princess version, and for the boys they have a Pokémon and Angry Bird version. When walking through the toys you can notice that it is very hard to buy neutral toys, it either pretty in pink or princess for girl or superheroes for boys. Anything you looked at from bikes, outside toys, lunch boxes water bottle, bubbles, and puzzles are aimed towards a specific sex and doesn’t give an opportunity for free choice. According to the sociologist Elizabeth Sweet (2016), the toy companies began to push for the use of color-coded marketing and segregation of toys in the 1980s. “I think it happened really gradually,” she said. “It wasn’t until late 2010, that people really started to notice. Now it’s undeniable.” This is concerning, she said, because “it encourages a culture where gender stereotypes define a way of life for children.” Unfortunately both girls and boys are living up to unrealistic expectations, girls are shown to be like a Disney princess and all is perfect and boys are to follow the superhero model. However, reality is that is not true and life is not like…